Walter C.G. Kirchner was a physician and member of the St. Louis-based family of doctors, the Kirchner family, who played a significant role in the founding of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

Kirchner obtained his A.B. and AT.D. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1897 and 1901 respectively. He spent his early medical career at City Hospital, where he rose through the ranks to become superintendent and surgeon in charge. During WWI, Kirchner was unable to serve active duty, but he became a major in the American Expeditionary Force in France, and was a member of the St. Louis Officers Medical Reserve Corps. In addition to his work at St. Louis area hospitals, Kirchner was an assistant bacteriologist for the city’s health department and an instructor in bacteriology at Washington University School of Medicine.